Locomotive-boiler furnace.



C, B, MOGRE. OCOMOTIVE BOILER FURNACE.

APPLICATION IILED F3514, 1912.

atauted Nav. 3, 2914;

the lireboX.

. ing one of the important features of the in- E PATENT OFFICE- ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN ARCH Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

1B. MOORE, OF EVANSTON, COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.

LOCOMOTIVE-BOILER FURNAOE.

Patented N ov. 3, 1914. Application filed February 14, 1912. Serial N o. 677,565.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, @Hannes B. Moons, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Evanston, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, havej invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive-Boiler Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

M i invention relates to improvements 1n spans.

I have chosen to illustrate my invention as embodied in a so-called front arch, but it should be evident that my invention is capable of being embodied in arches occupying other positions and haring slightly varying functions, and therefore my invention should not be limited to this specific form of melig- So-callcd front arches usu` ally occupy an upwardly and rearwardly inclined position in the forward end of the lirebox in contact `witl1 or close to the flue sheet and serve to baille and deflect the fireboX gases in their flow upwardly through the irebox from the fuel bed to the lines. The dellection of the lirelrox gases not only serves to retain them in the lirebox a suflicient time to allow7 complete combustion to take place, but also causes them to flow backward and forward in the firebox and thereby Adistribute their heat throughout 4siibstantially the whole interior surface of the ireboX. A refractory front arch made in accordance with my invention not onl retains the above desirable features but also serves to n'iatcrially enhance the admiXing and commingling of the lireboX gases and thereby adds to the fuel efficiency of the boiler. A. locomotive boiler firebox as shown in the drawings comprises a flue sheet 2 at its forward end,.side sheets ,3, 3, a rear sheet 4l having a fuel door or' opening 5 and a crown sheet 6. The lirebox is provided-.with a grate 7 and iiues 8 lead forward from the flue sheet.

My improved fireboX arch is composed, wholly of refractory members. It spans the rebox transversely and issupported upon and by the side sheets of the ,fireboin The arch is built up of two kinds of refractory bricks or members, onekind being span or supporting members and the other kind being cover or arch members. The span members 10 are elongated bricks somewhat T- shape in form but,-inverted in position; that is, the head of the T is at the lower edge of the` brick. These bricks are arranged in pairs transversely of the firebox and each of these pairs is longer than the Width of"- locomotive boiler furnaces and has particular reference to refractory deilecting Walls or baflies commonly called arches for use in the fireboxes of locomotive boilers.

The general objects of my invention are to provide a refractory arch for installation and use in a locomotive boiler furnace, which can be easily and quickly installed in' a locomotive xirebox; which shall be of relatively light Weight and lov.' cost and parts of which can be conveniently removed for effecting repairs upon the side sheets of the irebox; and which shall be of such form that it Will materially enhance the admixture and commingling of the irebox gases.

A' particular feature of myinvention 1s to provide an arch which shall be wholly constructed of refractory members and lwhich shall be in' a sense self-supporting in My invention consists in the several improvements, the various 'combinations of elements and the associations of parts whereby the above and other objects are attained and all as hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

ll/y invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which: y

Figure l is a central longitudinal section of a fireboX equipped with an arch embodyin@ Illy-invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the irebox on the line 2- of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of the firebox on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; Fig. t is an enlarged detail portion of the arch illustrating a section similar to the section of the arch shown in Fig. 1 and illustrat-V vention; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail trans verse section on the line 5--501 F 1g. 2 taken through one'of the refractory supporting the lirebox and the biick's/'f'o/f the pair are arranged in up ardly and inwardly inclined positions in the forni of a span eroi a subsidiary supporting arch and are in a sense self-supporting. These bricks are provided with sockets 3 at their outer and lower ends adapting the bricks to be supported .upon lugs 3b secured in proper positions to thc side sheets of the tirebox. The inner or contacting ends of these supporting or span menibers are formed for substantial interlockincnt with each other and they thereby mutually retain each other in position. '.lhe bricks 10 as shown in the drawings are provided with complementary projections and sockets l()a and 10b, respectively7 upon their inner or abutting ends, which serve to interlock these abutting ends together and prevent both vertical and lateral relative movement of these ends of the bricks. These bricks as stated are somewhat T-shaped in cross section and the head 10 of each brick is at the lower edge. These bricks are relatively deeper than they are wide and forni what may be termed light arch trusses extendingacross the fireboX from side sheet to side sheet. I make these span or truss members of such dimensions that they are strong enough not only lo carry their own weight but also to bear the additional weight of the cover or arch bricks ll. The heads 10C of the truss meinbers provide supporting shoulders or flanges 1'2 adjacent to the lower edges of these trusses and these flanges serve as supports for the cover bricks l1. are substantially rectangular in forni and are relatively thin. They are long enough to reach from one of theI refractoryr spans tothe adjacent one and are provided with flanges 12S at their ends adapted to upon thel -flanges or shoulders l2 of the span bricks and the lower portion of these cover bricks project. downwardly between the span bricks substantially flush with thc lower edges of the span bric ln other words, thc cover bricks are provided with grooves or sockets 1l for receiving the. llanges l2 of the span bricks. l soineiiincs lighten the cover bricks by providing hcir under surfaces with shallow gaswinningl pockets or recesses la which occupy nearly the wholc arca ol the brick and thereby not only ii'iakc the bricks light iii .veight but provide the arch with a plurality of sub sidiarv gas-mixing pockets and with a plurality of gas dellecting surfaces arranged at various angles.

edge ol' the. span bricks scrvc as guards to prcvcut thcI rapid destruction of thc span bricks as thc lircbox gases are prevented troni iinpiuging directly against the side surfaces of thcse members.

These cover bricks l The. cover bricks being i arranged substantially llusli with the lower By reference to Fig. 4 it will be noter that the side surfaces of the span bricks l@ are curved and l curve them on a radius substantially equal to their distance apart or, in other words, equal to the length of the cover bricks which are to be placed between the span bricks. lThis is clearly indicated by the dotted position of the cover brick, its lower end being raised from its normal position and the brick itself being supported on the curved surface with its upperend substantially in Contact with the upper span brick.

lt hasl been found that the fireman in operating the heavy pokers or tools used at times for breaking up the fuel bed, sometimes. particularly iii short ii'eboxes, accidentally strikes the cover bricks from beneath and displaces them from their positions, in which case the lire bricks fall from the arch to the fuel bed and the eliiciency of the arch is thereby decreased. T o overcome this difficulty l have-provided the arch herein described in which the cover brick when it is raised, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l, will not be displaced from its position to such an extent but that it can immediately return thereto and will be returned by gravit' and to cause it to thus return freely to its position, curve the side surfaces of 'the span bricks 10. In other words, the brick having been struck from beneath and raised to occupy the position shown by dotted lines will immediately thereafter descend to its proper position. the lower end. of the brick sliding` down upon the curved surface of the arch brick upon Which it rests and the cover brick will be thereby guided into its proper normal position.

The arch as described comprises two in wardly and upwardly inclined leaves each thereof being composed of several of the span bricks separated by rows of the cover bricks and for the purpose of being able to install ilicse arches in fireboxes which Vary slightly in width and with supporting or span bricks of substantially the saine length. l make the span bricks of such a orin tbatthey will find solid and substaniial bearing upon the side sheets even though it iuay be necessary to arrange them at difl'ercut angles to compensate for different a idtbs of fireboxes. In other Words, l round the outer ends 1G of the span bricks erlically. as shown in Fig. 5, sootliat these bricks will contact solidly with the side sheet at whatever angleit is found' desir able to place them, and consequently the outer ends of these span bricks are preserved against fracture due to abnormal 'strains ln building refractory arches in accord ance with my invention, l first secure the arch supporting lugs to the side sheets in i ZU proper spaced relation to receive the span bricks ofthe arch. I then place the lower span of the arch in position, placing the sockets of the span bricks upon the supporting lugs and abutting the two' bricks of the span together in interlocked relation and leaning against the Hue sheet. Thereafter, I place a second span or subsidiary arch in position above the first supporting it upon. its supporting lugs, and I hold this second span in position longitudinally of the fireboX spaced from the first span by means of the cover or arch bricks. These cover bricks are usually of such a Width that it requires several of them to completely lill the space between the adjacent subsidiary arches. I place the cover bricks ll in position by lowering one edge, preferably the lower edge, into position up'on the flange of the-lower span and then I lower the upper end down upon the flange of the upper span, the cover bricks turning upon the lower span as upon a pivot and the upper edge siif'eeping past the curved surface of the upper span during this movement. The cover brick once being in position cannot be j arred or moved out of place and when one end is accidentally lifted,

gravity will immediately and automatically replace it in its normal position. vThe curved surfaces of the span bricks not only overlap the ends of the c'over bricks and thus prevent them from moving bodily upward apfl becoming free from their supports, but .they also serve, as has been stated, to guide the cover bricks when one or the other end thereof is moved up or down. It sometimes occurs that an arch as thus far described consisting of tivo of the spans and one transverse row o f the cover bricks is of sufficient length to accomplish thc results in fuel economy which ai'e desired, but usually it consists of a sufficient number of these subsidiary spans separated and held in position by transverse rows of the cover bricks to position the rear end of the arch about the middle of the firebox. The dimensions of the span bricks, other than their length, are controlled by the features that they shall not be too heavy to be readily placed in position and that they shall .not be of' such size but that they can be readily passed into the iirebox through theI fire door. rI`he dimensions of the cover bricks are limited by the same features.

It will now be evident that my improved arch which I support upon the side. sheets of the lireboX Without any additional supports, can be readily placed in the usual firebox without laborious or costly preparations, and as it consists of a plurality of comparatively small members, it can be built with the expenditure of little time and labor. Furthermore the arch once having been built is protected against accidental destruction due to the displacement of the arch bricks by the lire tools in the hands of the fireman.

As many modifications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art to which-it appertains, I do not confine the saine to the specific structures herein shown and described.

.Having thus described my invention, I claim as neu' and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A locomotive boiler irebox, in combi- .nation with an inclined refractory arch therein, comprising a plurality of V-shaped, self-supporting refractory spans, and a transverse row of cover bricks interposed between the lower edges of said spans and supported thereby, each of said cover bricks being free to' turn upon either end as upon a pivot, the adjacent side surfaces of the span bricks being curved to guide the cover bricks in their movement to and from their normal positions.

2. A locomotive irebox, in combination with an inclined front arch therein comprising relatively deep, elongated refractory span members, arranged in pairs transversely of the ireboX and supported by the side sheets thereof, supporting flanges on the lower edges of said span members, cover bricks resting on said flanges and extending between adjacent spans, the side surfaces of said span members above the supportingl flanges being curved on a radius equal to the length of the cover bricks.

3. A locomotive boiler firebox, in combi` nation with an v inclined refractory front arch comprisingpairs of refractory supporting members spanning from side sheet to side sheet supported thereby and spaced apart, said supporting members having horizontal supporting flanges projecting horizontally from their lower edges, cover bricks interposed between said supporting members and held thereby in inclined position, ,the cover bricks being free to swing out of their n'oi'mal positions upon their upper ends as upon pivots and the span having inclined side faces to support the cover bricks with their upper ends in proper contact with the adjacent span member, whereby the cover bricks can return freely totheir normal positions.

4, A. locomotive boiler fiiebox, in combination with an inclined refractory front arch therein, comprising elongated 'span members, T-shaped .in cross section, the heads thereof being arranged at the lower edges of the span providing cover brick supporting flanges, the bodies of theI supporting members being" thickened at their upper edges thereby providing cover brick receiving spaces which are narrower at their upper parts than at their lower parts to retain my hand, this 24th day of January, i932, in. cover bricks against displacement and cover the presence of two subscribing Witnesses. bricks arranged between' the lower edges of CHARLES Ba MOORE the spun members resting upon the support' ing flanges und maintaining said spans in tnessesz .spaced relation. JOHN R. LEFEVRE,

ln testnnony whereof, I have hereunto set M. SIMON. 

